Method of constructing subaqueous tunnels.



PATBNTED MAR. 14, 1905.

T. K. THOMSON. METHOD OF CONSTRUGTING SUBAQUBOUS TUNNELS APPLICATIONFILED AUG.21, 1902.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1` .w Mmmw. lfd fw@ Hd wl. w ov. m. ..1

PATENTED MAR. 14, 1905.

T. K. THOMSON. METHQD 0F GONSTRUGTING SUBAQUEOUS TUNNBLS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. Z1, 1902A 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Snom/Lto@ Mk) s UNITED STATES Patented IlIa-:cii 14, 1905.

PATENT OFFICE.

THOMAS KENNARD THOMSON, OF YONKERS, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TOARTHUR MCMULLEN, OF NET YORK, N. Y.

IVIETHOD OF CONSTRUCTING SUBAQUEOUS TUNNELS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 784,816; dated IJIareh14, 1905.

Application iiled August 21, 1902. Serial No. 120,452.

To all 'wh/mt it muy cm1/cern: Y

Be it known that I, THOMAS KENNAED THOM- SON, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing in ParkHill, Yonkers, in the county of festchester andState of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inMethods of Constructing' Subaqueous Tunnels, of which the following is aspecification, reference being had to the accompanying' drawings,forming a part hereof.

This invention relates to the construction of tunnels, and moreparticularly to that branch of the art of tunnel construction whichconcerns tunneling under rivers, harbors, or other bodies of water.

In the construction of subaqueous tunnels as at present practiced theremay be said to be two general methods of procedure. According to one ofthese methods, which is probably the older of the two, excavations arecommenced at either terminal of the tunnel and are continuously advancedfrom one terminal to the other underneath the bed of the stream. As fastas these excavations are made the tunnel-walls are constructed, and theentire labor of constructing the tunnel is required to be performedwithin caissons or similar devices in which the pressure ot' theatmosphere is proportional to the depth of the water above the tunnel.

Owing largely to the difliculties of working at any considerable depthunder the abovementioned conditions, the second method et' subaqueoustunnel construction was devised. This method comprises the building ofthe tunnel in longitudinal sections upon the nearby bank or shore,towing or floating said sections to a place upon the stream which isapproximately above their respective permanent positions, and {inallysinking said sections into place and fastening together their adjacentends.

The present invention is concerned with the latter method of tunnelconstruction. Its

general object is to improve that method of building' subaqueoustunnels, to minimize the risks usually attendant upon the laborers andworkmen during the building of large sulaqueous tunnels, and toeconomize time, labor,

and materials employed in the building of subaqueous tunnels.

In the accompanying drawings, in which the scale of each figure isvaried in order to show the several parts most conveniently, Figure l isa longitudinal sectional view of a portion of one of the sections of thetunnel. Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view of one of the sections ofthe tunnel. Fig'. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the tunnel,showing working shafts communicating with caissons at the several jointsof the tunnel-sections and also at either end of the tunnel. Figs. a and5 are transverse sectional views of the tunnel, taken at one of the.joints and at one of the ends of the tunnel, respectively, and showingsectional views of the caissons employed at those points. Figs. 6 and 7are side elevations of the tunnel at one of the joints and at one of theends thereof, respectively.

The several tunnel-sections, which, as above mentioned, are constructedupon the bank or shore adjoining' their permanent positions, arepreferably alike both in their structure and dimensions. Each sectioncomprises a frame of wood, which is preferably built in the form of ahollow rectangularbox open at both ends. It will be understood that thedimensions of the frame or box will diiier according to the uses orconditions which may prevail in. any given case; but hereinafter for thesake of clearness the invention will be discussed with reference to theconditions which ordinarily prevail in the construction ot' subaqueoustunnels for purposes or uses connected with railroad transportation.

The length of the tunnel-sections may be made as great as convenience inconstruction and handling' may dictate, and it is at present preferableto make them at least one thousand feet long. The frame of the sectionsis preferably constructed of twelve by twelve timbers, all of thetimbers being cut square and secured together by bolts without anyhalving or dovetailing. rI`he timbers are arranged and joined togetherin such a way to form the frame-walls that the latter comprise severallayers of timbers, which are indicated at a c and L in Figs. l and Q ofthe drawings.

it is adjacent.

All the timbers in the same and alternate layers are .arranged parallelwith each other and either loi'igitudinally or transversely in theframe, while the timbers in an adjacent layer are arranged crosswise ornormally with respect to timbers in the layer to which The numbers oflayers of timbers employed will determine the thickness and strength ofthe frame of the section; but it is immaterial so far as this inventionis concerned how many layers the frame-wall may contain. In the drawingsfive layers of timbers are shown to comprise the frame, thus renderingthe frame-walls about iive feet thick in case twelve by twelve timbersare employed.

The edges of the frame are formed by the transverselyarranged timbers aand (d, the timbers c in the top and bottom walls of the frame and thetimbers a' in the side walls of the frame alternately extending theentire width of the frame. The small square spaces c, which aretherebyleft in the edges, may be filled with small cubes of wood orconcrete or any other material or left vacant, if desired. Ifpreferable, also, vacant spaces may be left within the wooden frame,which may bc filled with concrete or other material.

As soon as the sections of the frame arc formed as above described theyare each lined with a suitable waterproofing material d, over which alayer of concrete e is placed. Said layer e preferably comprises asubstantial body of concrete, which ismolded to form the interior of thetunnel. As shown in the drawings, there is but one central conduit E,forming the interior of the tunnel, the thickness of the concrete layerin this case being about equal to the thickness of the frame-vf'. c.,about tive feet. It will be understood, however, that there may be asmany conduits within the tunnel as desired, and they may be of anyparticular shape to suit varying conditions of use, and where more thanone conduit forms the interior of the tunnel the walls between theseveral conduits may be of concrete or of any other suitable material.The roof of the sections is preferably strengthened on the interior bythe addition of I-beamsf, between which thc concrete is laid andsupported.

After the sections have been as completely finished as possible upon theshore they are ready to be towed or Hoated upon the river or stream to aplace which is approximately directly above their permanent position.IVhile the sections are being constructed upon the shore, however, thebed of the stream may be dredged, so as to remove any obstacle which maybe in the proposed line or path of the tunnel and also to form a channeland a suitable foundation for the several sections of the tunnel to restupon. In case the bed of the stream so dredged is too soft to form asuitable foundation for said sectlons it may be reinforced by dumpingquantities of stone or concrete thereon or by driving piles therein.

The several sections which have been completed in the mannerhereinbefore described and which have been towed out upon the stream arenow ready to be sunk into place. Before sinking, however, it ispreferable to add a layer of concrete 7': upon the tops of each of thetunnel-sections, which layer serves both to overcome the bouyancy of thesection upon which it is laid and also to protect it when in place frominjury from anchors, sunken vessels, or anything'else that might bebrought by the stream in contact with the roof of the tunnel. In orderto further neutralize the buoyancy of the several tunnel-sections, theyare adapted to be loaded, and for this purpose they are provided with'cribs, (not shown in the drawings,) which may be secured to the outsideof same in any suitable manner and into which stone or other heavymaterial may be dumped.

In order to control and facilitate the sinking of a section, one or morecoffer-dams D are built upon the top of the same before the section isloaded. Then the loading is carried to a point which is just suficientto sink the section in case the coffer-dam were not attached to thesame. By removing now the sides of the cofer-dam or by otherwisegradually admitting water into the interior of the coffer-dam thesection may be sunk to any desired depth. Instead of employing acofferdam or in conjunction with the same side chambers C may be builtupon the sides and near the top of the several sections, these sidechambers extending longitudinally the entire length of the sections andbeing provided with any suitable means whereby water may be admittedinto or discharged from the interior of said chambers. These sidechambers may be built upon the tunnel-sections before they are ioatedout into the stream, or, if preferable, they may be placed thereon justprevious to sinking' the sections and before the concrete is laid uponthe top of the same, which concrete is then added to cover the tops ofthe side chambers as well.

Temporary bulkheads or diaphragms g, forming watertight compartments t,are provided in the several sections in order to prevent the water fromentering the interior of the sections while sinking and to otherwiseassist in the sinking. As many of these diaphragms or partitions may beprovided as may be found desirable in any special case,

and these bulkheads or partitions are so placedv in the ends of thesections as to leave a watertight compartment in each end of about onehundred feet in length. It is preferable also that the concrete liningof the tunnel shall not extend into these end compartments of theseveral tunnel-sections, but that these end portions of the sections beleft unfinished in order to facilitate the joining of the adjacent IOOIIO

IIS

ends in case those ends for any reason should overlap. In such a casethe end portions may be easily removed to the desired extent and adiagonal or curved section may be inserted between the ends, theinterior of said diagonal or curved section being shaped to conform tothe curvature which the track is to assume at this point.

Either one of the extreme or end sections of the tunnel is first sunkinto its permanent position.y Both of these extreme sections areprovided with a working shaft, which is built upon the same beforesinking at the shore ends of said sections, respectively, which shaftsare provided so that the land portion of the tunnel may be started fromthese ends as soon as these sections are in place. These extremesections `will also be provided before sinking' with working chambers orpneumatic'caissons A, secured to the shore ends of said sections, whichcaissons will be used to start the headings for the approaches to thetunnel. As soon as the first section has been sunk to place the secondsection is fioated, so as to be approximately directly above itspermanent position, and said second section is then sunk in the samemanner as the first section, so that its end adjacent to the end of thefirst section will be near, but will not abut against said firstsection. The second section, before being lowered to place, is alsoprovided with a working shaft andpneumatic caisson B, secured to its endadjacent to the end of the first section, and said caisson is arrangedupon the second section and is of such shape as to be adapted tostraddle the end of the first section adjacent to the second section. Itwill be understood that the caissons herein referred to denote theworking chambers c', which are formed around the several joints of thetunnelsections in the manner describedto facilitate the sealing of saidjoints, and that the word caisson as used in this specification does notin any case refer to the sections themselves or any of theircompartments which, technically considered, might be included within theterm. As soon as the second section is sunkto place the joints formed bythe walls of the caisson and the first section are packed or calked inorder to form a water-tight compartment within the caisson, andair-pressure is established within said caisson and the two sections ofthe tunnel are united within the caissonchamber. In order to protect andstrengthen the joint, it is preferable to add a layer of' concrete onthe exterior of the tunnel around the same, and this may be accomplishedby filling the space between the caisson-walls and the sections. Theupper part of the caisson may be then removed and, if' desired, usedupon the next section. in this way the several sections of the tunnelare successively sunk to place and joined. If' preferable, however, bothof the extreme orend sections may be sunk at the same time, and the meanor intermediate sections may be laid by working from both endssimultaneously. As soon as all these sections have been sunk to placeand their several ends secured together in the manner above specifiedthe interior diaphragm or portions and bulkheads may be removed and thetunnel will be complete from terminal to terminal.

1 do not claim herein the construction or arrangement of' the devices bywhich I carry out the above-described method, such construction andarrangement forming the subject of another application which `was filedAugust 2l, 1902, and is Serial No. 120,453.

`I claim as myV inventionl. The herein-described method ofl constructingsubaqueous tunnels, which method comprises the construction of aplurality of substantially complete tunnel-sections, erecting on'one endof each of said sections a caisson, towing each of' said sections to aplace above its permanent position,sinking said scctions successively,and finally uniting the ends of' the adjacent sections within Vtheadjacent caisson, substantially as described.

2. The herein described method of coustructing subaqueous tunnels whichmethod comprises the construction of a plurality ofsubstantiallycomplete tunnel-sections,placing in one end of each of theextreme sections a 'Working shaft, erecting upon one end of each of' theother sections a caisson, towing each of said sectionsto a place aboveits permanent position, sinking said sections successively, and finallyuniting the ends of the adjacent sections within a caisson,substantially as described.

3. The herein described method of constructing subaqueous tunnels, whichmethod comprises the construction of -a plurality of substantiallycomplete tunnel-sections, erecting on one end of each of said sections acaisson, towing each of said sections to a place above its permanentposition, sinking said sections successively, uniting the ends of theadjacent sections within a caisson, and finally removing the upper partof each of said caissons, substantially as described.

4. The herein described method of constructing subaqueous tunnels whichmethod comprises the construction of a plurality of substantiallycomplete tunnel-sections, erecting on one end of each of said sections acaisson, dredging the bed of the stream in order to form a suitablefoundation for the tunnelsections, sinking' said sections successivelyand uniting the ends of the adjacent sections within the adjacentcaisson, substantially as described. A

5. The herein-described method ofv constructing subaqueous tunnels whichmethod comprises the construction ofl a plurality of substantiallycomplete tunnel-sections, erecting on one end of' each of' said sectionsa caisson, dredging the bed of the stream in order IOO IOS

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to form a suitable foundation for the tunnelsections, strengthening saidfoundation by the addition of stones or other material or by the drivingof piles, sinking said sections successively and uniting' the ends ofthe adjacent sections within the adjacent caisson, substantially asdescribed.

6. The herein described method ot' constructing subaqueous tunnels,which method comprises the construction of' a plurality ot'substantially complete tunnel-sections, erecting upon one end ofthesections a caisson, sink ingI into place iirst one of the extremetunnelsections, and then the second section adjoining said extremesection, so that the end havingl a caisson secured thereto shall beadjacent to said extreme section, fastening' the two adjacent ends ofsaid sections together within said caisson, removing' the upper part ofsaid caisson and proceeding similarly with each of the remainingsections successively until the line of tunnel is completed,substantially as described.

7. The herein described method of constructing subaqueous tunnels, whichmethod comprises the construction of a plurality ol" substantiallycomplete tunnel-sections, erecting upon one end ofthe sections acaisson, sinking into place, first one of the extreme tunnelsections andthen sinking into place the second section, so that the end of saidsecond section adjacent to the {irst section will be near but shall notabut against said first section, securing said caisson over the end ofthe section, and finally fastening togetherthe ends of said sectionswithin the caisson and sealing the joint formed by said ends,substantially as described.

8. rlhe herein -described method of constructing subaqueous tunnels,which method comprises the construction of a plurality of substantiallycomplete tunnel-sections, erecting upon one end of the sections acaisson sinking into place iirst one of the extreme tunnelsections andthen sinking into place the second section, so that the end of saidsecond section adjacent to the lirst section will be near but shall notabut against said iirst section, securing said caisson over the end ofthe first section and establishing' an air-pressure within said caisson,fastening together the ends of said sections within the caisson, andfinally removing the upper part of said caisson, sul stantially asdescribed.

This speciiication signed and witnessed this 14th day of August, A. D.1902.

'.l. KENNARD THOMSON. ln presence of- ALFnuD W'. KIDDLE, RoswnLL S.NicuoLs.

